Values and Vision of What Could and Should Be

As early childhood educators and special educators, we, the staff of the projects recognize the value of including young children with disabilities in programs with their typically developing peers. We believe the benefits for all children are considerable and that preschool age children with and without disabilities are at a formative period for getting to know each other. We are appreciative of the extensive legislative, moral-philosophical and research base that supports the development of least restrictive environment (LRE) models for preschoolers with disabilities. Because the purpose of this manual is to share strategies for initiating and implementing inclusive programs for young children with disabilities, this introductory discussion is offered only as a brief overview of the important work of many researchers and practitioners nationwide, concerning the foundations of inclusion.

In the November 1989, Philip Strain, keynote address at the National Conference of the Division for Early Childhood, later reprinted in the Journal of Early Intervention (Strain, 1990), set forth the issues of the inclusion movement in the early childhood arena:

There is no evidence that children with certain handicapping conditions or levels of disabilities make more or less good candidates for integration. Now obviously children with severe disabilities require more accommodations to maximize their growth and development. Here we have the root of the conventional wisdom that children with mild handicaps are better candidates for integration. What is true is that they (children with mild disabilities) may, only may, require less change in the structure and function of current service delivery (than children with severe disabilities) to meet their learning needs (pp. 293).

This statement fits well within the context of the growing and substantial body of literature attesting to: (a) the positive outcomes of education for children and youth with severe disabilities in settings with their typically developing peers (Halvorsen & Sailor, 1990; Hanline, 1993, Rainforth, York, & MacDonald, 1992; Salisbury, 1993; Thompson, et. al., 1991, Wegner, 1992); and, (b) two decades of research indicating that for preschool children with disabilities special education and related services can be more effective when provided in appropriate mainstream settings such as Head Start, preschool/child care centers, and kindergartens (Guralnick, 1991; Peck, Hayden, Wandschneider, Peterson, & Richarz, 1989; Salisbury, 1990; Smith & Rose, 1993; Strain, 1990).

The strategies we have employed in our projects are grounded on an understanding and application of a milieu approach to meeting the needs of young children by embedding instruction and therapeutic services within existing activities and routines of the natural setting (i.e. homes, child care centers, and preschools) (Bailey & McWilliam, 1990; Bricker & Cripe, 1992; Guess, et al., 1978; Kaiser, Hendrickson, & Albert, 1991; Noonan & McCormick, 1992). Additionally, attention has been directed to procedures that result in the "meaningful" inclusion of the children and families. For example, our investigation have been directed to: (a) supporting sustained positive reciprocal social interactions (friendships) between children and, (b) creating productive relationships among the families and personnel who are brought together within the context of these programs. The value base embraced for our work is set forth in the following seven value statements.